Mirage
by Janna18
Summary: For Sakura, life was great, until something disrupted the balance of her carefully constructed life, changing its direction entirely, forcing her to face hard, cold, unforgiving reality. Can she survive the cruelties thrown at her? Enjoy
1. New School Day

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MIRAGE

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Author– **Janna18**

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**Syaoran Li** **X ****Sakura Kinomoto**

**Rating**** - ****T**

**Disclaime**r: I do not under any circumstance own the cast of Card Captor Sakura. Sole property rights go to Clamp. Go talk to my lawyers if there is a problem ;P  
I own only the plot and the new characters introduced during the course of the story.

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Summary :

For Sakura, life was just wonderful. That is until something disrupted the balance of her carefully constructed life, changing her direction completely, forcing her to face hard, cold, unforgiving reality. Will she survive the cruelties that fate and ill-luck throw at her mercilessly? Read and find out.

_Enjoy _=)

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CHAPTER 1

_Trringgg……_

The sound of the alarm ringing tore through my ears, jolting me awake from my beauty sleep.

I lazily stretched my sore, rigid muscles, stifling a yawn as I reached over to my side table and stopped the alarm none too gently.

I tried rubbing the sleep off my eyes as I pushed the covers of my bed away and walked over to my curtained window and pulled the shades up, letting light into the room.

"Its about damn time you got up" drawled a voice from my desk drawers.

I gave a condescending look towards it and tsked, "Language Kero, language" I shook my head and continued, "Good morning to you too, sunshine. Ever chirpy, aren't we?"

A yellow furry ball attacked me as I barely caught hold of its tail and all but screamed into my ear, "Look whose talking. The pot calling the kettle black. And YES I'm chirpy and its completely your fault!"

To my raised eye brows he answered, "It's the cake you made for me yesterday.", as a way of explanation.

"But that is next to impossible because I made double extra sure that your piece was devoid of sugar.."

"Now THAT is impossible because I had eight pieces of cake!"

I sweat dropped at his craze for everything sweet, which left him in an almost constant high, driving me nuts.

I looked at the clock and decided that I better get ready.

I sighed as I made my bed and did my morning duties.

A new school year was about to begin and nearly the entire town was buzzing with excitement.

It was going to be a long year. At least I had friends and family behind me, and is all mattered to me.

I got myself ready to face the various happiness, sorrow, disappointments and difficulties that was sure to pass across me sometime during the year.

I can't wait to face the challenges.

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I rushed from the bathroom, and tied my still wet hair into a sloppy knot.

I wore my socks and shoes, grabbed my school bag, whispered a bye to Kero and hurried down the stairs, nodding a 'Good morning' to every maid I crossed.

I entered the kitchen and smiled at the cook, as she bowed low and smiled back at me.

I heard foot steps behind me and turned to see my beloved onii-san about a yard away.

"Morning. Looks like the kaijuu has finally woken up, huh?" he said while sipping his morning coffee.

I smiled at this every morning ritual. He would call me a monster and I would smile innocently, go over to him, stomp his foot and call him a baka.

And today was no different.

I rolled my eyes at his antics, accepted the waffle and gulped down milk the cook offered, walked over to my dear brother, stomped hard on his right foot, screaming, "Onii-san NO BAKA"

The cook barely suppressed her chuckle as Touya Kinomoto's brow twitched as he tried to prevent himself from howling in pain, listening to me snicker as I saw through his weak pretences.

"Where is Otou-san, onii?" , I asked, changing the topic.

"He is probably at the test site. They had called him over early last night", came his candid reply.

I sighed. Dad was always working. Continuously. Twenty four slash seven. Work is all he thinks about. Work. Work. Work.

All the time.

"Syaoran is accompanying you to school and back" he said breaking through my reverie. As if he knew I was worried about dad, which he probably did know, he smiled at me warily.

I nodded at him absently.

"And…. Yukito is coming over for dinner" Touya drawled and smirked.

I groaned. When I was eight, I had this huge monster crush on my brothers' best friend Yukito Tsukishiro.

And I made a mistake of confessing to him. He being the nice guy he is, let me down easy. It was quite embarrassing to face him again, but I steeled my resolve and started to see him as another brother of mine. It was quite easy to forget the whole incident.

But Touya came to know about because you see, no one keeps anything from Touya. He found out. He however, never let it die, teasing me in every opportunity, and never failed to drive me up the wall.

I rolled my eyes at his persistant jokes and I wa about to retort when a maid came and bowed, "Master Li has arrived and is waiting in the gardens. "

I thanked and dismissed the maid, bid adieu to my onii, who was muttering about being saved by the bell, grabbed my back pack, donned my roller blades and helmet and rushed out to meet Syaoran Li – my best friend.

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A/N:

And so how was it?

Do you want me to continue?

Likey?

PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS ^_^ ;)

I welcome positive and negative comments and criticism as long as they are constructive and help in improving my language and imagination and story.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

The next update will be in a week.

=)

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REVIEWS MAKE MY DAY, MAKE THE CHAPTERS COME FASTER AND ALSO MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND!

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Ja ne minna-san!

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	2. Author's Note

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Hello Everybody,

**This is Rad, Janna's best friend.**

**I have some bad news to tell you guys.**

**Janna being the impulsive, emotional idiot she is, broke her arm. Badly.**

**She has been hospitalized for it.**

**Which is why she hasn't updated so far.**

**She is very sorry about the delay and she promises to make up for it soon.**

**For those who wanna know about her health, please send PMs to Janna18 and I'll try to reply you all.**

**The Docs say that shed be forbidden to use her arm for at the least two months and don't worry people especially about her writing, she is already dreaming the next chapters for her existing stories and forming the frame work of her new stuff. Bottom line – Driving me from 'C' to 'Y' of CRAZY.**

**I'll send to her your regards and 'Get well soon's.**

**Sorry to be the bearer of such news,**

**Rad.**

**PS. The next chapter of this story will be published in this space.**

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	3. History Of The Four Clans

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MIRAGE

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**Author**– **Janna18**

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**Anime/ Manga – ****Card Captor Sakura**

**Genre – ****Romance/ Action/ Adventure**

**Pairing - ****Syaoran Li X Sakura Kinomoto**

**Rating – ****T**

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**Dedication – **Sheila, a very good supporter, wonderful friend and kindled spirit. ;P to you too Gal!!!

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**Disclaime**r: I do not under any circumstance own the cast of Card Captor Sakura. Sole property rights go to Clamp. Go talk to my lawyers if there is a problem ;P  
I own only the plot and the new characters introduced during the course of the story.

I'm just a poor person trying to create my story with the existing characters from Clamp's show, Card Captor Sakura. (wipes tears) Sole property rights go to Clamp. The standard disclaimers apply

**Summary :**

For Sakura, life was just wonderful. That is until something disrupted the balance of her carefully constructed life, changing her direction completely, forcing her to face hard, cold, unforgiving reality. Will she survive the cruelties that fate and ill-luck throw at her mercilessly? Read and find out.

_Enjoy _=)

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**CHAPTER 2**

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_****Evanescence****_

_**** Too Late to Regret****_

_****Memories are fading away****_

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'_Resolve to create one happy moment every single day of your life for at least one person. Wake up with a sense of purpose to create a happy moment for someone today, every day. Momentary happiness and moments of happiness are the best gifts you can gift your loved ones. You never know when the person will be taken away from you and you will not realize the full importance of a person unless and until they are taken away from you. And make a difference. It should be made hard for anybody to replace you by somebody else easily. Be different. How hard can it be? "_

You may not realize the true meaning hidden between those words, but trust me, you will feel the impact of it when you least expect it. Why wait long and do what you can do now? What is a smile going to cost?

Giveth and thee shall receive bountlessly.

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Now on with the chapter….

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**CHAPTER 2**

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_Previously_

I rolled my eyes at his persistent jokes and I was about to retort when a maid came and bowed, "Master Li has arrived and is waiting in the gardens. "

I thanked and dismissed the maid, bid adieu to my onii, who was muttering about being saved by the bell, grabbed my back pack, donned my roller blades and helmet and rushed out to meet Syaoran Li – my best friend.

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_Present_

I walked out into the gardens, my destination being the majestic Sakura tree which dominated the garden, standing tall among the rich greenery, the forest being practically in the back yard of my house.

I reached the base of the tree and looked at the boy who unknowingly held my heart in his hands. His eyes were closed and his breathing steady. I reached out to mess with his hair but thought against it albeit reluctantly and slowly retracted my fingers. What I was not prepared for, was his hands catching mine, using it to pull me down next to him without even straining a muscle. Makes me feel _so _strong! I immediately looked into his eyes, and instantly drowned into his eyes.

Sigh.

Did he know the effect he had on me? Knowing him as well as I did, I knew he was as dumb as a post in the area of love. My thoughts were interrupted by his husky voice.

"Hey sleepy head…" drawled Syaoran Li.

"Isn't that supposed to be _my_ line?" I retorted.

"You _are_ the one who is late and can you really blame me for teasing you?"

"Oh Kami-sama! First Touya and then you, all in one single morning…. What sin did I commit to thee?" I mocked back.

My statement drew a swift smile to his face and I stopped breathing.

Ahh… _Life's just peachy_. So what's new?

He sprang up from the ground, his body graceful in its movements, and he reached out for me. I held up both my hands and he caught them with his and pulled me off the ground without effort. By comparison on the basis of power, he was well and beyond my capabilities, I grudgingly admit.

"Ready for a new year?" he asked as he glanced into the forest which was practically behind the mansion, his mind, obviously troubled for some unknown reason and that was surprising because Syaoran was one of the most intelligent people I knew and he dealt with problems easily no matter how big or difficult it may be.

He leaned against the tree, the picture of perfection, the object of every girl's wildest dreams, the messy chocolate locks as unruly and as untamable as him, the burning amber eyes, the sexy smirk playing across his lips, the muscled outline of his torso, the legs crossed lazily, painted the vista of ease, calm and intelligence and he literally oozed confidence.

Could it be that he too had a feeling that something was going to happen?

Feeling my probing glance, he continued, "So I'm not the only one, huh?" he chuckled at my expression. "I know you inside out Sakura and I know every single thought of yours."

I didn't know whether to be amused or shocked. If he could really read my mind, them he'd probably know that I was head over heels in love with him and he'd probably have me committed - complete with a straight jacket.

"Some thing is going to happen and its something big. All we can do is wait and see what is going to happen. Come on. Lets go to school. Can't _wait_ to meet with the girls." I squealed at the end and he raised a fine brow at that.

"You just met with them two days ago. You can't possibly want to meet them _again_!" he looked at me and just as I was about to reply in kind with a lecture, he stopped me before I could speak a word and said, "Wait. Don't bother answering that."

I laughed at his palpable fear and ridiculous expression and started skating away from him, yelling over my shoulder, "Race you to the school! Last one to reach buys the other ice-cream!"

Not to be out done, he grabbed his bag and skate board and started to chase after me.

My name is Sakura. Kinomoto Sakura. The only daughter of Kinomoto Nadeshiko and Fujitaka. Kinomoto Touya's beloved younger sister. Best friend of Li Syaoran and Daidouji Tomoyo. Hiragizawa Eriol's trusted confederate and partner in crime.

Head cheer leader. Captain of the girls school team in volley ball, swimming and athletics team albeit _a bit_ reluctantly - Just so you know, you can't exactly go against the entire student body, the ever loving teachers and administration. Really – I don't know whether to be irritated or feel honoured by my roaring school mates agreement to their decision to place all of us, the royal children in places and posts of importance. One would think that we had enough duties to last a century.

So let's continue….ace gymnast, class topper, secretary of the student's council. The dream life. A life of luxury. Born rich and never knew the meaning of the word poor. That's what it seemed to everybody.

These are the labels which have been branded on not just me but everybody else too but being related to the most powerful and rich, and how unfortunately every body look at me as. Sigh. Sad, but true. The person I've described is the person who I was forced automatically to be to please my family, friends, the elders and the public. Half of it may be true, yes, but I love out door activities, trekking and climbing and I'm basically a tomboy without reservations and all, but is that accepted? Nope. I'm supposed to be a demure little girl who listens to what everybody else's voice, never my own.

At the least that's what everybody else assumes when they look at us. I sum up about pretty, young, smart but naïve.

A façade. That is what the entire thing is.

I felt the air rushing past my face and felt it slowly loosen my hair from its severe knot atop my head by the minute. The wind stung my eyes, my bangs were fluttering violently against it.

Syaoran, to do his part in _helping_ it, rushed forward to aid the state of the messiness by, of course, moving in behind me and yanking out the single slide which helped keep it in place. Rolling my eyes at him and yelled out, "Really funny Syao! Just how old are you? Sixteen or _six?_"

I chased after him giving him a much needed, unnecessary head- start.

Strong he maybe. But I am the fastest. A smirk plastered onto my face, I started chasing him. _The race is on_.

He skated past the short cut which we usually took when we were seriously late and the one he did take was the long way in and I didn't really mind.

Truth to be told I love this route as it held a lot of obstacles like slides, twists and turns, which made it a lot more fun to skate around, especially when it is Syaoran you were chasing after, who you could probably hazard a wild guess that he was the most dare devilish out of us all in the gang, unequivocally.

All of us knew Tomoeda like the back of our hands and plus, we are talking about a _hot _guy, looking damn fine in his tailor made uniform, his crazy hair all over the place with his oh- so-tempting dangerous aura which practically magnetized you to him like like- poles. Crazy I know, but can you blame a girl? Sigh again.

In order to understand me, and follow the story of my life, the people around me matter. Hence for a while, you will have to put up with a _lot _of names.

I came from a family of entrepreneurs and business men.

All of us are descendants, albeit modern, of an ancient Chino- Japanese clan. During the first few decades of its formation, the Sakamotos as they were called, split up in four according to a mutual decision. Two clans moved over mainland China, and the other two took over Japan.

The Li's and the Tachibana's ruled over china, leaving Japan to the Kinomoto's and Watanabe's.

Syaoran Li is the crown price of China, being the only son to Li Xenon and Li Yelan, having four quadruplet older sisters in the order of Fanran, Futiee, Feimei, and Sheifa. He was spoilt rotten being the only son, but looking at him now, he didn't seem so bad…

Meiling was the daughter of Yelan's sister and she moved in with them after the sudden and unexpected death of her parents in a air crash. Her brother, Taro, an ample five years older than her, had moved over to England for his further studies, looking after the Li investments there. All of them were very well knit together and they were like a second family to me. Half of the time I practically lived with them in their mansion on the other side of the town, loving every moment to the ultimate.

Eriol Hiragizawa was Syaoran's cousin on his father's side. The fathers were brothers. Eriol's father was lost during a war and that blow brought them closer together. Auntie Hana used to look after Eriol in England and then he transferred to China. Auntie Hana and Mei's brother Taro looked after the companies there. The Li's had bought Uncles investments when he passed away.

How I remember these names you may wonder, well, history is my strong point… Now lets continue…

The Tachibana's were interested in purely business and so left the so called hierarchy in care of the Li's quite readily. I don't know much about them as they tend to keep a low profile.

They are pretty secluded and elusive, going out of their way to ward of the paparazzi, but how they do it so successfully, is completely beyond my comprehension, seeing as they hold shares in almost every single company world wide, coming second only to the Li's. I do however know that Seichii and Yukio Tachibana, the CEOs and owners of Tachibana Corporation, aka Tachi Corp., have two sons Kenji and Akira, with the latter being four years younger and was of my age. All are quite good looking… _sigh_… the lady of the manor being a traditional Korean beauty.

I have been honoured to have met them on one single occasion and that little encounter had left me with an ever lasting impression of their elegance, power and undaunted confidence. They were by far the most sinister. I think. Recently, they have adopted a young girl, also of my age, Maya by name, whose parents were unfortunate tsunami victims. I have to say that I instinctively admire them and bare no hatred for them, for God knows what reason. I have long since learnt that trusting your instincts without question was one of the unwritten laws of nature, and I'm by nature _very_ obedient.

The Watanabe's like my family, are Japanese and like the Tachibana's don't take over the um… ruling of the affairs of the country of Japan. Don't get me wrong. By ruling I only mean that we conferred the title, but not the actual powers. We possess a close link with the government and help anything under the sky, from money to man-power and in general, look after the welfare of the country, their main reason being _patriotism._

Syusuke Watanabe, Japanese, is married to Caroline Watanabe of English lineage, have a son Suoe and twin fraternal daughters Rachael and Rebecca. They are about a year older than me and are very beautiful. They are good people, doing good work and they are wonderful friends.

Kanata Ryu is a family friend of all the four of us and the Langs are the link through which all of us are connected. Surprising, but true. They are-

'Oi! Sakura!' Syaoran called at me, grinning and waving wildly.

We had neared the school all too soon.

Remembering the challenge from before, I put on a burst of power and I tried to race past him, 'tried to' being the key words. He caught hold of my wrist and pulled trying to stop me in vain. By the end of the struggle, we were both on the ground, with me laughing hysterically and him nursing a wounded ego. Someone was going to buy me ice-cream!

I looked up to see Tomoyo walking towards us and Eriol just entering the campus with his blue skateboard tucked under his arm.

Syaoran and I exchanged evil grins at each other as we watched Eriol raise an eyebrow at Tomoyo and she flushed pink in response. Eriol looked like the cat who had eaten the canary.

It seems we have some little match-making to do too!

Meiling was standing next to our Sakura tree and she yelled at us calling us over, waving frantically, with Kanata Ryu next to her, wearing a mixture of the expressions of 'i-don't-know-just-how-in-the-world-I know-her' and 'please-save-me-somebody!'

Wow. The day has finally arrived.

We both nodded and smiled our hellos to our fellow school-mates and friends as we ran towards the tree.

The history lesson will have to be concluded later on.

It was a new year and a new atmosphere to catch up to.

Time flies when you don't want it to.

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_To be continued…_

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**A/N:**

**Hey people!**

**12 pages for the record…**

**Likey?**

**The ending was a **_**bit **_**off, I know, sorry but I'm in a bit of a hurry!**

**Ya well too much info, yes but you kinda need it if you wanna understand it.**

**And Sheila, this one is for you!**

**Thanks so much for your support people, those who have reviewed, PMed and alerted me!**

**Cant wait for your response Sheila, Jen1234va, Lisa, Jon, Cathy, James Birdsong, brokenshadow23, poems2songs, cupid sucks, Bridget and Twilight Kisses!**

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**REVIEW REPLIES**

**James Birdsong – Hey! I'm all better! Thnx, I hope u liked the chap!**

**Brokenshadow23 - Well I am on the mending road… sorry this one took so long! Yes, Saks and Syao are bfs. I'm personally proud of this story coz its close to my heart. I know, Love Trust and Happiness and Of Suave Business Men is **_**way**_** better, but I still love this story nonetheless. **

**Poems2songs – Thanks for your vote! I am glad you like my stories! I hope you feel this one is good too!**

**Cupid Sucks – thnx mate for your review. I love the Touya and Saks conv too! I'll take your advice!**

**Bridget – I don't think I can find words to describe your tie with me… You know damn well how I feel! Thnx for being there and for your support!**

**Twilight Kisses – Hey! Hope you liked this one. I know its like a history lesson, but I swear that the other chaps will make up for it! =)**

**8 reviews ppl? You could do better than that!!!**

**That's it for now folks!**

**Please READ AND REVIEW!!!!**

**Janna. =)**

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